Clearwater Threshers Crush Manatees 13-1

Garfield Homers Again For Brevard County

ABOVE VIDEO:For the Brevard County Manatees 20th season, the franchise took a unique approach when it came to selecting its class of interns for 2013. (ManateesBaseball)

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA —Five runs in the first inning were more than enough for the Clearwater Threshers to wipe out the Brevard County Manatees on Friday night, but they went on to score another eight in the fifth inning to defeat the ‘Tees 13-1 at Bright House Field.

Brandon Macias hit a double for Brevard County in the Manatees’ 13-1 loss at Clearwater on Friday night. (Image courtesy of Brevard County Manatees)

The game marked the largest margin of defeat for Brevard County this season.

Manatees starter Jed Bradley (1-1, 4.66) couldn’t make it out of the first inning as he gave up a total of five runs before he was lifted with two outs on the board. Just two of those runs were earned though due to a pair of errors committed by Yadiel Rivera.

Bradley walked three and yielded three hits and did not record a strikeout. Chad Pierce entered in relief and walked a man before getting out of the opening frame with the bases still loaded.

GARFIELD SMASHES FIFTH HR OF THE SEASON

Cameron Garfield provided the lone bright spot for Brevard County (9-6), smashing his fifth home run of the season, which ties him for tops in the Florida State League, to lead off the second inning.

Cameron Garfield provided the lone bright spot for Brevard County (9-6), smashing his fifth home run of the season, which ties him for tops in the Florida State League, to lead off the second inning.

His teammates threatened to add more behind him, though a Brandon Macias double and a Rivera walk provided no runs. Both runners advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch, but Threshers (7-8) southpaw Nick Hernandez (2-0, 2.12) stranded them there.

In the fifth inning, the Threshers sent twelve men to the plate, with eight of the nine men in the order scoring a run. Following a one-out walk, Clearwater rattled off five straight hits that included two doubles. A fielder’s choice and another error allowed each of the next two batters to reach base before a two-run double capped off the scoring.

SATURDAY FEATURES RUBBER GAME

Each starter in the batting order for Clearwater recorded a base hit, with Jose Mojica’s three leading the way. Hernandez’s only run allowed was Garfield’s shot and he gave up just four hits overall. He also struck out seven batters and walked only one in six innings of work.

Drew Gagnon

Saturday night features the rubber match of the series, as Brevard County righty Drew Gagnon (0-1, 10.32) and Clearwater lefty Hoby Milner (0-2, 13.97) square off beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Pregame audio coverage on ManateesBaseball.com begins at 6:00 p.m. in the final game of the three-game set, before the Manatees move on to Tampa for a three-game set with the Yankees.